Amber Marie Lemmons

I was born on September 25, 1989 and started kindergarten at Pleasant View Christian Academy in August of 1993. Some of my favorite school memories include competing in state and national competitions, the junior/senior trips, and the priceless memory of my shoes being confiscated before I was allowed to sit in the U.S. Senate chambers!

I was saved as a young girl on a Sunday morning after the Lord convicted my heart. I desire to live for Him always, and I want people to see Jesus in me! My plans are to attend college in the fall.

I would like to thank the Lord for helping her make it this far, and for giving me the mind, talents, and abilities to accomplish more than I ever dreamed possible. I would like to thank my parents for their sacrificial giving year after year to send me to a Christian school and for their love and support. Thank you, too Brittany and Alicia for your love, support, encouragement, and most of all your friendship.

Thank you, Preacher Raynes for opening a school for young people who want to serve the Lord. Thank you Mr. Raynes, Mrs. Davidson, Miss Viers, and Mrs. Hardin for giving your lives to the ministry.

I want to tell all of the remaining students to remember, "Only what is done for Christ will last. What is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." You never know what tomorrow holds, so do your very best today.  

Natalie Christine Raynes

When I was five years old, the Lord convicted my heart of my need for a Saviour and I accepted Christ at an evening service here at Pleasant View. Because I went through two terrible periods of doubt that caused me to make other professions, due to my own spiritual immaturity, I am especially thankful for the complete assurance I have of my salvation.

I am very excited to be part of the first class to complete their education at Pleasant View Christian Academy. I have so many great memories here, but my favorites are when Brittany Lemmons and I did some serious undercover work to dedicate the yearbook to our yearbook advisor, Miss Viers. We had tried for three years, so actually getting it together, planning the pages, and talking with our yearbook representative right under Miss Viers' nose was very rewarding. I have also enjoyed all the trips we've taken throughout school, but I especially enjoyed the Colorado Bible Quiz trip we took in 2005. Of course, the Talent Show ranks very high on my list of favorites; watching the show come together, usually on the day of, is always exhilarating.

I plan on attending Bob Jones University and studying speech. While I am not sure what God will do with my life, I am excited about serving Him in the future however He sees fit.

To everyone who has invested time, money, and effort in my education, thank you! Mrs. Pegram, thank you for making work hard. Thanks for not letting me quit. Miss Viers and Mrs. Davidson, thank you for pushing my creativity past what I thought was my limit. Dad, as my principal and father, thanks always pushing me to do more and achieve more, always to the glory of God. So many people have have made a permanent impact on me, and I appreciate the many positive examples I have here tonight.

To those of you who have yet to graduate, all that stuff about, "Make the most of your high school years" is true! These can be great years if you'll put everything you've got into them. In addition, I want to challenge you to be all for Christ you can be. The last thing God has called you to is mediocrity! Give Him your best and watch Him reward you for your faithfulness to Him.

David Wayne Viers

I was born to Wayne and Sandy Viers on January 10, 1989 in Greenville, South Carolina. Just six months prior to my birth, my father, mother, and two sisters had moved to South Carolina from Virginia to join Pleasant View Baptist Church. I was enrolled in PVCA in 1994 and graduated from Kindergarten in May of 1995. At my kindergarten graduation was embarrassingly laughed at when I tripped on a shoestring on my to way to receive my diploma. I am still brutally and mentally scarred by this event!  

At nine years of age the Lord began to deal with me about salvation. A couple of years later I made a profession but not long after began to struggle with doubts. Then one day at a Sunday School party, my teacher gave a devotion on the evidence of true conversion. I saw my lack of spiritual fruit and realized my need for Christ but still continued to put it off. Then one Sunday morning, Pastor Raynes preached a message dealing with the seriousness of just how short life can be. I was very convicted of my need of a Saviour and trusted Christ that day.

I want to thank the Lord for the sheltered environment in which I have been raised. Thanks to the grace of God I have not been made familiar with the world’s definition of fun. Thanks to the burden of my parents and pastor, I have had the privilege of growing up in probably the best environment in this day and age! I want to thank my parents for sacrificing their time, money, and effort to make a Christian education possible in my life. I couldn’t possibly (even now) see the good effects and results of the Christian teaching I have received in my thirteen years of attending PVCA.  But I can honestly say that this is the best school on the face of the earth. And I know for myself that because of the endless and numerous lectures and lessons I have received here at this school, I don’t have to become a spiritual failure!

I want to thank Preacher Raynes for obeying the Lord by starting the school therefore making a good, Christian education possible for so many students, including myself. I want to thank Pastor Shiflett for his interest and involvement in the school. Preacher, you will never know the positive impact that you have had on my life already in the short time you have been here. Your Bible lessons have inspired me as well as the other guys to be all that we can be with the help of the Lord. We all hope one day that we might possibly become the exceptional men which you by example have shown to us.

I want to thank every teacher; Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Pegram, Mrs. Davidson, Mr. Raynes, and last but not least, Miss Viers (better known to me as “Sissy”). Thank you “Sissy” for your notes of encouragement that you have given me at school. Most of the time, it was words of wisdom that you gave me that I needed right then and there. Mrs. Davidson, thank you for all the help and guidance you have given. I continue to realize that my superb form of writing still amazes you! And I do not understand why I was not recognized for my supreme art of writing achievement. And last, I would like to thank Mr. Raynes for every moment of time and effort you have put into my education. I want to thank you for being aware and caring about my needs when you noticed that I was struggling with something.

I may not understand the full impact of Christian education in my life until I am older, but as a graduate of Pleasant View Christian Academy, I want to thank all who had a part!I also want to leave the remaining students with some advice. Listen to the teachers here. You may think they are just trying to make your life miserable. But what they are really doing is trying to make us into young people that will later on in life have a positive impact on this society. Too many schools today are just teaching students reading, writing, and math. But that is what separates this school from any other average school in the world. The teachers here put their entire life, time, and effort into making us as students, successes no only in life, but also making us into successes for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.